For many FFA members, national convention is their first opportunity to be surrounded by colleges from all across the country. Each college puts their best foot forward to welcome FFA members and to invite the students to ask questions about the university. This is a great opportunity for FFA members to reach out to the experts — the college students who were once in their shoes. Another great resource for FFA students is our College Guide. The guide allows students to check out colleges from all across the country from the comfort of their fingertips.
During the 92nd National FFA Convention & Expo, we asked college students to think back to their time in the blue corduroy jacket and tell us their favorite FFA memory.
Katie Martin with Clemson University said her favorite FFA memory was attending the Washington Leadership Conference. Martin said, “This experience opened my eyes to show me that FFA is bigger than just my chapter. It is happening in other states, in smaller towns than mine and bigger. It was super rewarding to go back as a WLC facilitator in the summer of 2018 and watch students that I got to interact with have the same experience that I did, just four year before.”
Jack Palla, a student at Oklahoma State University said his favorite moment during FFA was competing on the same dairy judging team with his two younger brothers during his senior year in high school. “The coolest thing was being able to stand up there and compete with them. I definitely enjoy the camaraderie aspect of FFA.”
Kendra Betz, a student at Missouri State University, said her favorite FFA memory happened during national convention. Like most FFA advisors, when they see something they want, they will stop at nothing to get it. That is exactly what Kendra’s advisor did. They were driving through the McDonald’s drive thru and just as they were about to leave, the van comes to a screeching halt. The advisor spotted a rare plant that was needed for educational reasons. The advisor stopped right then and there to get the cutting of the plant and brought it back home.
Jacob Colville with the University of Arizona said his favorite FFA experience was attending state convention. “In Arizona we actually go for state CDE competition to the University of Arizona. We spend the day on the farm and do our competitions. Afterwards, we get to tour the campus and I thought that was fun. That is what got me invested in the college.”
The most important part — they all had a blast. FFA, like so many other organizations, is what you make of it. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it.
